Book review: An Artless Demise by Anna Lee Huber

Lady Kiera Darby and her husband, Sebastian Gage, have returned to London at, perhaps, the worst time for Kiera’s reputation. A group of body snatchers is arrested, accused of killing victims and selling them to medical schools, which stirs up rumors of Kiera’s past once more. To top it off, a young nobleman is murdered in an apparent and Kiera and Gage are called on to investigate.They have to decide whether it was a “burking” like the other murders or something else. While investigating, Kiera gets a letter of blackmail from someone willing to besmirch her name with proof her former husbands involvement with body snatchers. Poor Kiera, pregnant with her first child, has to navigate all this and decide how she will deal with a society all too willing to write her off.

Overall, I really liked this book. I was so happy to get back to the world of Kiera Darby and Sebastian Gage. As always, their relationship is what brings me back to this series again and again. They are so loving, so supportive, and have such great chemistry, it’s a delight to read.

I did find it a little hard to get into, and I’m not sure why. The book starts with what I love best about the series, which is Keira’s supportive family, but something didn’t quite gel at first. I was about a quarter through the book before I felt the action started happening and things came together. Maybe it’s because it’s been awhile since I’ve read the other books and forgot some characters, I don’t know. But once the first murder happen, the writing felt clearer and the action was engrossing.

The last half of the book moved quickly and a lot of threads came together. And there were a lot of threads to come together. I appreciated the historical research that went into this one in particular and felt I learned a lot I’d never heard of. The last part of the book was hard to put down, and I loved how everything turned out. As always, it left me satisfied and wanting more at the same time.